EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern Company by 14.5%, acquiring an additional 3,975 shares, bringing its total to 31,443 shares valued at $2,891,000.
• Southern Company reported $0.91 EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates of $0.99, despite a 7.9% year-over-year increase in revenue to $6.97 billion.
• Southern declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 76.09%.

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,443 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,975 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Southern by 400.0% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Southern in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Southern from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.36.

Insider Activity at Southern

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,897,795. This trade represents a 12.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Southern Price Performance

SO stock traded down $0.4050 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.5250. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,177,895. The company has a market capitalization of $103.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 12-month low of $80.46 and a 12-month high of $96.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.37.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 15.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.